Rekha Malayalam Movie

Vincy Aloshious and Unni Lalu are brilliant in this gonzo thriller from Jithin Issac Thomas. Some viewers may be put off by its gratuitous use of violence, but others will appreciate the movie for what it is. Mar 18, 2023 By Sreejith Mullappilly

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The first half hour of Jithin Issac Thomas' Rekha gives us no clue as to what will happen in the rest of the film. Jithin introduces us to a seemingly happy middle-class family somewhere in north Kerala. Rekha (Vincy Aloshious) lives with her father and mother. Rekha's mother often complains about her daughter's behavior of being on the phone almost all the time. She is more emotionally attached to her loving and caring father. There is hardly any domestic trouble at play here.

Rekha is also dating a guy known as Arjun (Unni Lalu), and their romance seems as fresh as the couple's from Kumbalangi Nights. He is jobless, but she is OK with it. He looks at her with a sense of glee, and she likes him. But she also does not feel as at ease with the relationship as he does. What does she have to be wary of? Is it some sort of community pressure or fear of opposition from her parents?

The writing may not be good enough to explore such themes more deeply and maximise the potential heft in the script, but the filmmaking is top-notch here. There is a love scene involving Vincy and Unni's characters with a terrific stretch of foreplay where an array of emotions alternate between fear, lust, and love. Then something fateful happens, causing Rekha to lose grip with her sense of reality.

Rekha has a language that is so unlike Malayalam cinema. The soft music in the opening hour paves way to a Thaikkudam Bridge-like piece of techno music at the end. The music represents the journey of Rekha's character, something that starts with plenty of calmness and ends with a sense of release. The music acts as the crescendo of Rekha's creed of violence. There is neon lighting everywhere. There are also clever analogies to coconuts and kitchen knives. The language in the movie contains some slang words, which even a Keralite can find hard to follow without subtitles.

Rekha may not be for everyone, though. Not all viewers like such gratuitous levels of violence on screen. But the performances are world-class. Vincy anchors the film with a performance where moments of silence are interspersed with her volcanic outbursts. Her Rekha is a symbol of stealth. Unni's performance may be the more subdued of the two, but he is a brilliant actor who mostly lets his eyes do the talking.